The Infected [Books 1-6]

by P. S. Power

  Denis was off stage, watching him closely, but Tobin knew the second that he withdrew his emotional support, since he really wanted to be alone suddenly. Actually it was worse than that. So much so that very few people would ever know what it was like. On stage he'd managed to seem confident and powerful, like a real performer, but now he was different on a level that almost anyone would have instantly noticed. Not understood, but they'd see it clearly enough. His shoulders, already small and slender, sunk in further, and he closed in on himself, even as Marcia Turner walked up and patted him on the back. She understood, he thought. At least she mainly pretended too, which was nice of her, if nothing else.

  "Great job out there. Really well done. You too girls." She was the acting manager for their little tour, so she had to say nice things to them, he thought. That was part of her job. She was good about that kind of thing too, as long as no one annoyed her too much. Then all bets were off and it was best to go away. Hiding was an option too, if you could do it right.

  It was the long haired man that was moving past her about that time that made a difference though. Billy Carson. As in the. Country legend. Tobin couldn't speak at all, even though the man stopped and faced him, a huge smile on his face.

  "Darn straight! Killer set man. Now it's up to us to knock them down." He actually seemed impressed about the whole thing, but all Tobin could manage was a few muttered words and a wave.

  His shyness was something that had made the news about the tour, because it was really different than what most had to deal with, so hopefully the man wouldn't feel like he was insulting him. It didn't seem like it, since he got a slap on the back in passing from Dan West, the drummer for the other group. He had shorter hair and was a bit younger, being the third man to have the position.

  They had a dressing room, and while they had to share, no one else really seemed to mind that much. Peggy actually stripped off her t-shirt, and put on another one right in front of him, her stomach muscles and small breasts exposed fully. In a way it was a little mean of her to do that. He really would have loved to stare, even if she was a bit butch looking, but just couldn't make himself, which wasn't fair at all. Lauren just had a decal on her front, for decoration. They were all in red, white and blue, since they were patriotic. It was literally a rule. All of them on the trip worked for the Federal Government even, which lent some weight to the whole thing. Marcia had told them that would be happening, and no one had tried to say she was being goofy or overly sentimental. That wasn't her point at all, and they all knew it.

  He had on a really silly looking jumpsuit, but hadn't complained about it, since pretty much everything looked wrong on him. It was an Elvis style get-up, but his big head and black and green skin didn't really work with it too well. He took it off too, turning his back, since he was pretty much the definition of shy. Not that the girls wanted to peek at him anyway. He was four-six and skinny, weighing less than a child his height normally would. That was about the best he could say about his looks. True, he could change color, slightly, from black to brown and even green, but it wasn't decorative, or useful at all.

  On the good side he got to climb into a pair of kid's sweat pants and an oversized IPB shirt then, taking pains to fold his show uniform carefully, and stow it in the hanging bag to go on the bus. It was black, and he shared it with Peggy, which meant her muscle shirt went into the thing too. They still had room, but Lauren had her own container for her decals. She let Denis help her slap a new one on, since it was cling film. Her strength was incredible, but her fingers couldn't do a lot of fine motor things very well, being too stiff for it. This was of a crane in silhouette with some reeds. It was subtle and really worked well with the rest of her. It kind of meant she was the best dressed of the performers on their team.

  Marcia waited for them to get ready, a bit impatiently, searching the area for hostiles, and took the hanging bag from him, so that it wouldn't look like he had to carry his own things, being the one with the hit single. It wasn't number one, and wouldn't be, he didn't think, since a lot of radio stations couldn't play it, but it was doing well as far as sales went . Even Wal-Mart was carrying it, which was a big deal. A lot of people had thought that they wouldn't, since he was Infected. They'd come out and basically flipped off the haters in a press conference, and told them that they didn't want their money, if having good products was too much for the bigots to handle. So far their sales weren't down at all over it, threats of boycotts aside.

  The tour they were on had been nicknamed "The Virgin Tour" by some of his Team Two fellows. It was more than a little mean of them, as far as such things went. Mainly because the people that got the name to stick all knew that he'd never had sex. It was annoying, but he hadn't said anything about it, not being able to, really.

  Ten events over the next month, which meant they had a lot of down time as they traveled. They were getting the whole Riot Squad, which was nice. After all, they were his friends. Lady Glory, Argos, and Gravity from Team One were with them, basically for moral support and PR. That his little thing had half the best Team One members and Denis, who was famous for being on a cooking show right now, meant that when they were led out the back door to the bus, there were women standing there, along with a few men, even if it was just a show at a County Fair.

  They held signs, which was expected. After all, Tobin was kind of used to that kind of thing. When they moved to walk past them however, he looked up to see what they said.

  These weren't the hate slogans at all.

  True, most of them were trying to get Argos to pay attention to them, and Denis, but a few had his name on them too, with little hearts. These were all held by girls that were too young for him, since he was nineteen, and the four he saw looked about twelve, but it was a lot better than being called names. So much so he felt nearly happy for a few seconds. Feeling a lot more social suddenly, in a way that meant he was being helped by Denis who was his friend now, and on the Riot Squad with him, he managed to work up the courage to walk over to them, smiling big. It was his fake smile, but the one most people associated with him. It made him look a bit frog like, since he had a very wide mouth and thin lips.

  "Hi! Thank you! All of you. This is really nice." One of the women, who wasn't holding a sign, moved in front of the girls and grabbed his arm. At first he thought it was an attack and nearly broke free, until she actually kissed him on the cheek. It was a bit longer than he would have thought that kind of thing would be, since they were strangers, but not too wet.

  "I love your music! Loneliness... It's like you wrote it for me." She was a bit older, and not that great looking, in her mid-to-late forties at a guess. She was also willing to touch him, which was a shock. Most people weren't. Even the ones that were willing to give an Infected person the benefit of the doubt often held back when it was time to shake hands.

  "Well, it's actually about me, which is probably a sign that I have a big ego, but that also probably means we're a lot alike. Inside I mean. You're much better looking than I am." It was the truth, but got him kissed again. That and scratched a bit. Like she wanted to mark him as hers.

  It was weird, but he'd heal from it. That was a thing that had saved him a few times, his fast healing rate. It wasn't as good as Bridget from Team One, or her dad, Prime, but it was pretty close. The powers that people knew he had were the standard ones, except his singing. He was faster and stronger than most, and could subdue hostile people with a song. He didn't use that on stage, but however it worked, it carried over speakers, which meant it was potentially pretty powerful, with the right tools. Not like Denis, or Lady Glory, but enough to be on a team with them.

  The new guy on the team was Doug. Gravity. It kind of spoke of his power right off the bat, which only the really powerful had, in the main. If you were like Tobin you got what was basically a nickname. Often based on looks. People like Doug just got an explanation of how they were going to take you down. He could do almost anything with gravity in a specific area,
which meant that in a crowd he was able to mess people up a lot, or slow them down without hurting them.

  They used to have a Telekinetic, but he was in lockup, for having sex with an underage girl.

  That...

  Tobin smiled at the young ladies who wanted him to sign things for him, while the others worked the line, trying to gesture towards the singers when they could, so that people would know what the deal was. It was well done and worked, after a fashion. One of the girls tried to kiss him, on the mouth, but thankfully Marcia moved in, moving her back gently.

  "Let's not get him arrested at the first show." She said it carefully, even sounding nice about it, but the girl seemed hurt anyway. That meant he was allowed to leave, he thought, a few more people patting his back as he passed close to the single line. True, someone could try to shoot him or maybe move in for some knife work, but he was better protected than it might seem at first. As Ms. Turner had just demonstrated. It was a thing that they'd practiced, but that work had assumed a much more hostile group than this. Protestors or even assassins, trying to take him down. Not cute little girls that just liked his songs. It had still worked, and if needed they could take out a few thousand people, at need. All without hurting them too. It had been something they'd been told to expect on the mission. The tour.

  They had to stay until no one wanted an autograph, or to talk about anything, as a rule. Argos mentioned it to him, standing by his right shoulder, with Peggy on his left.

  "Or, well, that's a Team One thing, but it's for PR events, and this counts, so I guess that it should apply?" He sounded uncertain, and like his words might not be considered very important. Tobin understood how that was really.

  Jason's first mode was humility, just like his was basically a fear of people. A social anxiety that was so bad that he was virtually crippled by it most of the time. Denis had been helping with that though, and he could manage a bit more than he used to. It was a gut wrenching, horror filled thing when he did it, but he could now, which was a thousand times better than before. It left him feeling drained and like he was going to lose his mind, naturally. It was hard to fight a first mode after all. Most people that didn't have one couldn't really understand that. They thought it was like being mad, or sad, or even happy. Things that ebbed and flowed for most people, but for an Infected were always on full tilt. That was so hard to explain that most didn't bother.

  Of course, as humble as he was, Jason was also golden skinned, and so good-looking that several women called out to him, offering to have sex. Just flat out saying what they wanted to do to him, or vice-versa. It clearly embarrassed the man, but he waved and didn't say no. Some of them were good-looking after all. Not that they, the IPB people, weren't leaving right away. That was the plan at least, which was a good thing as far as Tobin was concerned. After all, it wasn't like his Infection had made him a eunuch. He liked woman and would have dearly loved to have some of those that were calling out to Argos pay attention to him.

  It was just that he looked like a half man-half frog creature, and his shyness meant it was really hard for him to overcome that, using fancy words or clever skills. Mumbling that he thought a woman was pretty didn't get them into bed, surprisingly enough. It wasn't fair, but that was life, and a thing that he'd gotten used to long before. He'd popped Infected when he was two, and had been at the IPB since he was twelve. If he had parents, they'd taken pains to make sure everyone knew he wasn't welcome in their home, by hiding from him as well as the law allowed. Maybe he could have found them, but if they didn't want him, why should he want them?

  He'd been raised in one of the Infected homes. A place where those that are unwanted, and too young to fend for themselves, got warehoused until they turned eighteen or showed enough promise to get in somewhere else. It probably should have been a hell hole, but the Smitters, the couple that ran the place, had been as loving and kind as possible with all the kids that could accept it. Not all of them could, having bad first modes, but when it was clear that Tobin was going to be at least a class three, they'd lobbied the Governor of Florida to try and get him a spot with the Infected Protection Bureau. He'd been too young, but the Director had seen that he couldn't pass at all for normal, so had let him come anyway, and made certain he'd gotten training. He'd gotten schooling too, which hadn't been expected.

  It wasn't the same as a loving family, maybe, but in the end, he had friends and people that were willing to deal with him. To help him reach for his dreams, as far away as they had always seemed. Now, no matter what else happened, he had this. It was a thing that already existed, and couldn't be taken away now. Spoiled? Maybe. That or ruined, through hate or violence, but this one night, this one stage show, was his. Forever.

  At least until some other Infected wiped his mind or something.

  They got to the bus half an hour later, where the two Agents assigned to them helped get everyone on board, and the gear stowed. They didn't have a lot, so they were sent to their seats, which were covered with heavy blue fabric, but large enough and soft, so that they could get underway.

  It was a special vehicle really. The outside was black and shiny, with the words "Tobin Peterson: Virgin Tour" on either side, which was rubbing it in just a bit too much. That was probably the point. The inside was very nice too, though it wasn't a mobile home. It was all seats, and a small bathroom about halfway back, on the right, with the last third changed so that Lauren could fit comfortably.

  She had to get in and out the back door, but the broad and reinforced seat had cushions and was durable at the same time. The armored woman didn't need soft, but it was the thought that counted there. Durable was needed however. As solid as she was and being over nine hundred pounds, she could wear on a chair pretty quick.

  Agent Burkes, who wasn't one of the ones that worked with Team Two a lot, being mainly a Team One person, Tobin thought, made sure each of them was there, actually checking their names on a list. It was going to make it hard for him to sneak groupies along with them he decided, smiling about it a bit.

  "All accounted for. Let's head out." The man sounded tense and ready to fight, which was his job, but didn't seem needed at the moment. For one thing there weren't even any protestors this time, not even by the front gate.

  They'd all expected that, possibly with an attack or two planned just to start the whole thing off with a bang, but so far, so good. Not that it couldn't come at any time, naturally. He'd seen too many "spontaneous" things like that to make believe they were actually safe. Most of the evening would be spent driving in the wrong direction, he bet, since they had days to get to the next place. Agent Reyes would see to that. The man watched the road like a hawk, driving like he expected... Pretty much anything, to happen.

  It also hadn't been lost on him at all that they'd been told to mainly bring camping gear. Hotels wouldn't take most of them, he was sure. Well, not the uglies. From what he'd heard it was even getting hard for the non-Infected Agents to get rooms most places, if they tried to pay with an IPB debit card. People just didn't want them around. Any of them, if they knew who they were. It was considered dangerous.

  Like he was a danger to anyone? That wasn't really the point though, he knew. It was about the bigots attacking them, and doing things like burning down places that did business with the Infected. They didn't actually target the IPB personally, since they could all fight back and would win, but if you owned something, could you take that chance? Tobin didn't know, personally. Outside of a few outfits, and some books, he didn't really own anything at all, and never had. It was one reason that he'd learned to sing as well as he did, and to make up his own songs. It was something that he could carry with him, and that people couldn't easily take away from him.

  It was still daylight out as the bus started down the road, but it would be a while before they stopped anywhere, he was willing to bet. There was a saying that explained it, that Team Two used. One that popped into his mind, when considering how they'd be traveling for the next mon
th.

  Agents, be crazy.

  Sure, it was a bit harsh, but they lived their jobs to a level that very few did, enough so that it seemed strange even among people that literally had nothing else in their lives, except to train and watch old reruns on television. Burkes kept looking out the windows and changing seats as the road twisted and turned. It was a freeway, so that wasn't so bad, but it seemed paranoid, and like he was going overboard. Not that there was much else to do.

  Humming to himself lightly, he just waited, since that was the kind of thing he was good at. Eventually someone would start a conversation, and he could listen in, which would be like being part of the group. Almost at any rate. As much as he could be.

  Except that wasn't true and he knew it. Fear curled up inside himself, but he stood, moving quickly to sit three back, next to Marcia. They weren't close friends, perhaps, but they got along well enough, and unlike Peggy and Lauren, she wasn't dating Denis. Not that he knew of at any rate.

  That was the rumor at least, and a few had hinted that Penny, the invisible girl from Team Three was sleeping with him too. That was a bit unfair of him really, since Tobin got no women at all and he had many. Yes, they might not have been the best looking ones, but did that matter? He would have traded the man in a heartbeat, if he wanted to.

  Ms. Turner turned and smiled at him, her face only partially suspicious. That was her first mode, so it had to happen and he really did want something from her, if not anything that she wouldn't give willingly enough. A bit of human contact. It didn't hurt that she was really good-looking too. Of course he pretty much thought anyone that didn't have scales or an extra set of gills was kind of set in life that way, didn't he? Even some of the ones with those things weren't bad at all.